Chapter 4: The Female Ghost

  Wu Shi Rong calmed down and his facial expression gradually became calm.

  "Nie Yu, Wang Xuebing, you're here to find me, right?" Wu Shirong rushed over and hugged me, just like a kindergarten kid seeing his mom come to pick him up after school.

  "What are you doing here? We've been looking all over for you!" Wang Xuebing glared at him angrily.

  "Shh! Keep your voice down, there's a female ghost wearing white clothes here, she just pounced on me and tried to strangle me to death. Let's get out of here quickly!" Wu Shi Rong said, pulling my hand as he prepared to leave.

  "A female ghost? This is a school, how can there be a female ghost in a school? What a joke!" I couldn't help but laugh. This isn't some remote mountain or wilderness, this is a big city. Do ghosts even exist in big cities?

  "I'm telling you it's true, why don't you believe me? If you're not leaving, I'll leave myself!" Wu Shi Rong said as he ran outside.

  "What are you running for? Were you sneaking a peek in the women's restroom and then got scared off by a girl, and now you're trying to deceive us?" Wang Xuebing glared at Wu Shirong.

  "Don't believe me? Go in and see for yourself, I'm not lying! Today I was reading a book, and as I read, everyone disappeared. When I looked up, the building door was locked. I wandered around the corridor to find an exit, that's when I ran into that female ghost." Wu Shi Rong puffed out his chest and widened his eyes, staring at us two.

  I took a look around the environment. The staircase on the first floor was the ladies' restroom, and the faucet in the ladies' restroom was dripping water droplets, the cold wind was coming from the deepest part of the ladies' restroom. My years of experience driving out ghosts with my second uncle told me that this was the coldest place. I quickly took out the compass from my pocket, and the needle on top of the compass was spinning rapidly.

  "You guys help me hold onto things, I'm going to catch this female ghost, otherwise she'll come out and harm people again!" As I said that, I took out the talisman and that book "Nine Emperor God Strategy".

  "We can't go in, what if she's a human and not a ghost? It'll be troublesome if she reports us for harassment. Maybe she's a female mental patient, who knows?! Wang Xuebing's words reminded me, that's right, if it wasn't a ghost, the trouble would be huge, several men entering the women's restroom would definitely get fired."

  I took out the willow liquid from my cloth bag. According to the records on the "Nine Royal God Strategy", as long as you apply cow tears to a willow leaf, you can see ghosts. I took out a small bottle, and inside was the cow's tears that my second uncle had collected when driving out evil spirits. I applied it to the willow leaves and then stuck them onto my eyelids, one on each eye. With the Eight Trigrams mirror held against my chest and holding the talisman, I slowly walked into the women's restroom with my head lowered.

  In the women's restroom, there were actually two rooms. The outer edge of the room was a sink. I looked closely and indeed saw a woman in white standing with her back to me, her disheveled hair and all-white clothes, but she had no feet, floating in front of the window staring outside.

  I crept up quietly, and she didn't notice me at all. I had a spell ready in my hand, just about to stick it on her back. Suddenly, she turned around with a fierce movement. I was so scared that I sat down on the ground instantly. All I saw was one of her eyes falling off, half of her face covered in blood, teeth embedded one by one into her own face, and a huge hole on her chest, through which I could see the wall behind her.

  "You stinky men, not a single good thing!" she said, stretching out her hands and grabbing me directly. Wu Shihong and Wang Xuebing behind her were scared and shouted "Oh my god" and ran away without a trace.

  Just as she was about to grab my neck, perhaps it was the golden light emitted by the Bagua mirror on my chest that made her hurriedly cover her remaining eye with both hands. I took advantage of this opportunity to quickly jump up, and the talisman in my left hand happened to stick to her forehead. "Thud!" She actually fell over, not moving at all. I was just about to take out the peach wood sword to stab her heart, but stopped again.

  Looking at her, she doesn't seem like a malevolent spirit that harms people everywhere, but rather a lonely soul wandering around. Could it be that there's some unrequited injustice? If I were to kill her just like this, wouldn't her spirit scatter and never find peace? Wouldn't I be committing a sin? Thinking of this, I put away the peach wood sword and took out the red thread to bind the female ghost's hands and feet.

  In a short while, the female ghost woke up, looked at her hands and feet but couldn't struggle free. She shook her body hard and looked at me with fear.

  "What kind of ghost are you? How can you be here harming people?" I held the peach wood sword in my hand, afraid that she would break free and grab me.

  "Who did I harm? What person did I harm?" The female ghost suddenly changed her expression, her ferocious blood-stained face seemed to return to its original appearance. As I looked at her face, her eyes were actually black, and her pure white complexion matched her beautiful figure, yet she was pitifully shedding tears.

  "How did you end up here? Are you looking for a substitute?" I tensed up, as most vengeful spirits would look for substitutes so they could reincarnate.

  "I'm not looking for a substitute, I'll die right here, of course I will!" She said, gazing out at the ground outside with a hint of resentment.

  "How did you die? Tell me, and I might be able to help you!" I really wanted to know what kind of grievance she had, maybe I could do something good for her, and also practice the magic I was learning.

  "I was pushed down from the building and died here, I've been dead for many years, but I never hurt anyone. And please loosen your rope, it's hurting my hands!" She started struggling as she spoke.

  "Alright, I'll let you go, but don't hurt me, I can cast spells!" I plucked up the courage to untie the rope, while her eyes stared at me, making my heart feel creepy.

  She suddenly flew over and stuck her face against mine, examining me closely after loosening the rope.

  "What kind of person are you? How can you see me?" She was too close to me, I was so scared that I couldn't breathe.

  "I've learned some simple magic, my classmate said this place is haunted, so I came to take a look. If there's a malevolent ghost, I'll capture it. You, quickly tell me how you died, maybe I can help you." As I spoke, I pointed at the Bagua mirror in my hand, afraid she would pounce over.

  Then the female ghost told me her story……

  She said her name is Nina, and she's from a small town. She never had a father since she was young, as her parents were divorced, and she relied on her mother for survival. Her mother first worked in a restaurant, then saved some money to open a small grocery store, which made a decent profit at times. Later, when Nina got accepted into university, her mother almost spent all of their savings on tuition fees.

  "What happened afterwards? How did you die? This is a school, are there still murderers here?" I was somewhat perplexed.

  Later, during my sophomore year, I met a boy during an internship activity organized by the college. At that time, I liked her. He said his family was very rich. Later, he bought me many clothes and gifts. Later, we had a relationship... The female ghost's face turned red as she spoke.

  "And then he killed you?" I was getting a bit impatient.

  "It was also by chance that he suddenly discovered my bracelet, which I had received from my mother - we each had one, and mom said they were grandma's last gifts to her before she passed away. He repeatedly asked me for it, but I refused every time. Who would have thought that one day when we met on this floor, he still asked me for the bracelet? I didn't give it to him, and he actually tried to grab my hand. I struggled free with all my might, never expecting him to desperately snatch the bracelet from me and then push me down..." She burst into tears as she spoke.

  "What? Can such a thing happen? What kind of bracelet is that? He's so rich, yet he snatched your bracelet?" I find it quite unbelievable, how can a wealthy young master steal a poor girl's accessory?

  "I don't know why either, he was like a madman. I only heard my mother say that Grandma's family used to be very well-off and our ancestors were high-ranking officials in the imperial court. As for the rest, I don't know anything about this bracelet." Lena said, bursting into tears again.

  "What kind of bracelet is it that can talk to me?" I stared with wide eyes.

  "It's just a green bracelet, but it seems to have a bloody feeling inside, I don't understand either, my mother said it was very precious, and I didn't know." The female ghost shrugged her shoulders helplessly.

  "So you've become a lonely spirit wandering around here, harming people everywhere?" I looked into her eyes.

  "I haven't harmed anyone, not a single person, I'm really not an evil spirit, just scaring that man earlier." Lina looked at me with pleading eyes as if she wanted to say something but didn't.

  "What major was the Zhou Wen you mentioned? Which year?" I really wanted to ask this man, had his heart been eaten by a dog, how could he lay hands on the woman he loved, and for just a bracelet.

  "He should be graduating soon, right? I forgot, he's an archaeology major. Please help me find him, I want to see him?" The female ghost finally said what she wanted to say.

  "Do you think he'd come to see you? He pushed you down and killed you, then ran away with a clear conscience. Now that you're a vengeful spirit, do you think he'd dare to visit a ghost?" I told her the truth, because I had promised her not to bother me every day.

  "What you said is right, I was just dreaming, it's me who's too foolish, too naive..." She cried again, with a very sad look.

  Looking at Lina in front of me, I suddenly thought of my little sister. My second uncle was framed, and my little sister was also cursed and fell into a coma. My second aunt is now busy taking care of my little sister every day, exhausting herself like a slave. All of this is so unfair, I must help Lina teach that Zhou Wen a lesson.

  "Don't worry, Lina. I've thought it through. I'll help you teach that Zhou Wen a lesson and get the bracelet back to your mom. But you have to promise me not to scare people again, okay? If someone gets scared to death, it's going to be troublesome! I've put away the talisman and the Bagua mirror and packed them into my bag."

  "Oh? You're really willing to help me? What makes you want to help me? Are you some kind of meddling do-gooder?" Lina looked at me skeptically.

  "I'm not a chivalrous person, but my family members were killed by others. My second uncle and little sister were both framed by someone. One was cursed into a coma, the other became half-human and half-ghost. I believe I have this ability, don't worry." I feel very sympathetic towards her experience. I really hope Zhou Wen hasn't left school yet. I must find that despicable person who killed for just a bracelet.

  Lina agreed to my request and stopped scaring people. I also made a promise to her to find the stolen bracelet and teach Zhou Wen a lesson. I am not an embodiment of justice, but I don't want to see innocent people fall into the abyss one by one.